Welcome Home, Tommy!

Tommy finally got home Thursday, Nov. 6th. I was so excited to see his face!! His LONG trip/short deployment went well, getting a lot of hours flying and dropping about 20 lbs. (which kills me, he misses a few meals and loses 20 lbs., not fair!) but he is definitely glad to be home and back to normal!
We spent the weekend relaxing and he watched football ALL day! We did get out and go downtown for sushi, which he was craving and went to Taste of the Town in Summerville's Azalea Park on Sunday which was a lot of fun!!

Our little neighbor, Jake helped make the signs for Tommy's homecoming! He is so sweet!! He loves Tommy and LOVES Cooper!! (He's the one that dresses Cooper up for Halloween in whatever he is going to be. Last year he bought Cooper the spiderman costume that turned him pink. Tommy was thrilled to be out walking the neighborhood with a pink dog weighing in at 6 lbs when passing by the other guys walking their 70 and 80 lbs labs and retrievers!)

So, thank you to everyone who said prayers for Tommy and his safe travels! We appreciate all your thoughts and phone calls and emails throughout the 11 weeks and hope that you know how much it means to us!!

Thanks again!!

Happy Fall Y'all!!

"Cooper"hood for Halloween!

Happy Anniversary!

Tommy and I are celebrating our 3 year anniversary today... apart. But we look forward to celebrating together when he gets home, which is hopefully really SOON!
It has been an amazing 3 years and we are so blessed to have found each other. We always watch our wedding video together on our anniversary to remind us of the vows we made and the happiness that we felt that day. What a great day!! As I watched it tonight (with my friend Christine, poor thing) I remember being so excited, my heart pounding as those doors opened and I still feel that way about seeing his face when he gets off that plane in a few days. How lucky I am to have such an amazing husband and to have found the one that still makes me nervous and excited and my heart pound!!

Thank you to all who were there for us October 29, 2005! Your blessings for our marriage have gotten us to where we are today and we do feel truly blessed with all that we have been given.

And thank you to those who were here for me today, October 29, 2008! I couldn't have gotten through it without you!!

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Cooper's 2nd Birthday! I made him doggie cupcakes and Luna, his buddy, came over for cake and "frosty paws" ice cream!

About 3 weeks and counting...

We are just about 3 weeks from Tommy's homecoming! I really feel like time is creeping by... but I am so thankful to be on the home stretch. I wish everyone was coming home in November... It's such a bittersweet. As excited as I am, I know my friends have another 2 and a half months and some are getting ready for deployment in December. I hate this part of the Air Force!

But Tommy is doing good! So busy, flies 12-15 hours, sleeps 10-12 hours and then does it all again. I usually get to talk to him before he leaves and when he gets back before sleeping. Conversations aren't long but at least I get to hear his voice and know he is okay.
The highlight of his week was a good ole Outback Steakhouse dinner... in Qatar! How great is that? They came and catered a dinner for the troops and I think everyone was very excited! Who doesn't love a Bloomin' Onion and Filet from Outback? What a great way for them to support our military!

Not much else going on around here... Cooper and I went to Jackson for about a week to see the family and a few friends and had a great time! All we did was eat, eat and eat some more! Whew. But I got to go to lunch with my aunts Bebe, Melinda and my cousin Ashley and her 3 precious children. That was a lot of fun and I never get to see them on our whirlwind trips home! And dinner with Nunny and my aunt Dede and uncle Bill and cousins Milla and Kit (which are my 2 favorite little people in the whole world and my flower girls). AND I got to spend a lot of time with my brother and Julie which is always fun!!

Glad to be back to my routine and the diet starts today!!! Plus I have a 5k next weekend, so hopefully that will help shed some of the extra lbs I ate in Mississippi. Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Daniel Island. Wish me luck!!! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month- go get your mammies grammed!

Teal is doing good... the weather is getting a little cooler which I think is encouraging shoppers to get out and buy sweaters and jackets. We have tons of new things coming in every week which keeps me pretty busy. So, hopefully times goes by pretty fast the next few weeks and I will definitely keep everyone posted on when Tommy is getting home exactly! Yay!

Dinner with the 15th Girls!

Deployment...

Well, Tommy left Wednesday for his 10 week deployment. He will be in Southwest Asia, near Saudi Arabia, and flying in and out of the scary countries. It was even harder than we thought it would be and a little harder than the first time. I miss him so much already... Day 2. This is not good.
But we have discovered Skype which is a new video phone/conference calling from the computer so last night I got to see his face and talk to him at the same time!! He panned out and I could see the buildings where he is sleeping, the gym, the library and A LOT of sand. It was about 5 a.m. his time and already 100 degrees. He had to keep wiping the camera lens because it was fogging up!! But he did make it there after a LONG flight and was getting settled in.

Anyway, please keep him in your prayers for safe travels and for Cooper and I to get through the next few months. The good news is that he will be home for the holidays!!

Here are a few photos from the day he left and a link to the news story, watch the video. They show him getting on the plane...so sad.

Airmen deployed for next four months
It was an emotional send-off for dozens of Lowcountry families, after more than 130 airmen took off for a four-month mission.
http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=8913239

My Cousin Josh and Kristen's Wedding

Weekend in Jackson

Cooper and his buddy, Maggie



Family Dinner at Ruth's Chris! It was so yummy!!

The Hubster at Josh's Rehearsal Dinner

Me and Julie

July 2008

Crazy trip: Tommy, Coop and I drove (Tommy drove, we slept) from Charleston to Virginia to see Mammy,who has been having some trouble getting around lately. Spent the night at her house, which her made her day to see her favorite grandson, and then drove to the lakehouse in New York for the 4th of July! Lots of fireworks, scary bonfires and some much needed relaxation... Got back in the car and made it to Virginia for another night with Tommy's grandmother and returned to Charleston Monday afternoon for Tommy to spend 18 hours home (enough time to cut the grass, 4 loads of laundry and a few minutes in his favorite spot on the couch)

So, Tommy left on Tuesday, July 8th for Oklahoma...for 4 weeks :( He will be at Altus Air Force Base for Instructor Pilot upgrade, which seems like a big deal to me but what do I know??
He is suppose to be home mid-August for about 10 days to 2 weeks and then he is headed to the desert for a 2 month deployment...boo. The good news is that he will not have to be gone over the holidays, although he WILL be missing the very important start of college football season which I am totally sad about! That is my absolute favorite time of the year! I guess I will be sitting around on Saturdays, eating Rotel and watching by myself.

So for the next 4 months or so, I will be trying to keep myself busy at the store (to make time go by faster) and wishing my summer away just to see him and have him home. Feel free to plan a trip to Charleston to come see me!

Hope everyone has a great summer and please keep Tommy in your prayers for safe travels!

4th of July at Keuka Lake,NY

18 hour road trip...

Quick trip to Atlanta

Ashleigh, me and Kelley having breakfast at J. Christopher's

Ava Mazzotta

Hilton Stinson

Precious Sydney

Dinner at High Cotton in Charleston

Teal Summer 2008 Photo Shoot

Employee of the Month!
My favorite employee, Tessa

Bridal Shower

Julia, Kaili and I

Cooper wanted to be a part of the blogging...

Charleston Fashion Week 2008

With the models after the show...can you tell which one's me and which one's are the models??

The Crittenden's

Welcome to our blog... don't have a clue what I am doing! But I am going to attempt to keep up with this.

Will post pictures of what Tommy and I are doing these days, adventures at Teal, etc.